I’ve been to Hong Kong four times now, and I always enjoy it. But, like most other popular tourist destinations, they’re going to have some challenges in the months – or even years – ahead. The COVID-19 virus is one problem, but they also have political issues to deal with.
Hong Kong Tourism held a webinar the other day and laid out their blueprint for a tourism recovery. Here’s what they had to say. I’ve added a few comments in bold and in parentheses.
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The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) organized a web conference to provide the latest updates on tourism development and introduce the HKTB’s strategic framework of recovery plan. HKTB Chairman Dr. Y.K. Pang said that the Covid-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to Hong Kong tourism and put global tourism to a halt. He continued: “The tourism landscape will be reshaped. In the post-pandemic world, we will see a shift in preference and behaviour among travellers – the public health conditions of destinations, and the hygiene standards of transportations, hotels and other tourism facilities will become a top priority; people will prefer short-haul breaks and shorter itineraries; wellness-themed trips will become a new trend. It is in fact an ideal time for us to review and rethink Hong Kong’s position in the global tourism market and elevate service standard. Together with the travel trade, the HKTB is going to map out the long-term development strategy for our tourism industry.”
(The hygiene issue is an important one I’ve touched on in the past few days. Not only will people want to stay in clean hotels and eat in restaurants where they have faith in sanitary practices, but I suspect some travellers will want to be sure they have access to good, modern hospitals. The latter is certainly the case in Hong Kong.)
The web conference was attended by close to 1,500 representatives from travel agencies, attractions, hotels, airlines, the retail and dining industries, as well as Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) and cruise sectors. Representatives from the HKTB’s worldwide offices also participated in the meeting to provide insights into the latest developments in various market regions:
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• Mainland Market
– The Mainland has gradually resumed economic activities and people have returned to work.
– Given the outbreak’s impact on the economy, consumers will become more price-conscious and pursue value-for-money holidays. After prolonged confinement, visitors will also place greater emphasis on health and nature. When choosing destinations for future trips, they will favour those that pose low risks to health.
– The Meeting and Incentive market has slowed down as many activities have been postponed or will be held online.
(The price-conscious issue is, I think, an important one. Wealthy travellers might continue their old habits, but folks who’ve had to apply for unemployment insurance may not have the money to stay at a hotel in July or August.)
• Short-haul and New Markets
– Domestic travel will be the major preference shortly after the pandemic, and outbound travel will resume soon after.
– Regional competition will be fiercer than ever, as the tourism authorities and travel trade of various destinations are gearing up for intensive promotions to vie for visitors.
– In Japan, Korea and Taiwan, the young and middle-aged segments will be the most eager to travel. Green tourism and the outdoors will be favoured, while short-haul travel will be preferred due to financial and holiday leave constraints.
(I believe it was tourism/travel consultant Greg Klassen, former head of the Canadian Tourism Commission, who told me recently that the clamour from competing tourism destinations will be quite loud as folks compete for a limited supply of visitors. That will be interesting to watch. Will we see “Las Vegas is open and waiting” commercials on Saturday Night Live or the daily news shows?)
• Long-haul Markets
– Currently, governments are focusing on containing the outbreak within the region. A longer time is expected for these markets to recover and outbound travel may resume in the last 2 quarters of this year at the earliest.
– Ethnic Asian visitors are expected to be the first to visit Hong Kong after the pandemic.
– Consumer sentiment is comparatively more positive in Canada, France and Germany and outbound travel is expected to recover at a faster rate in these markets.
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The HKTB has announced earlier that it will be allocating HK$400 million to support promotions by the trade. HKTB Executive Director Dane Cheng explained that the HKTB has devised a three-phase plan to reinvigorate Hong Kong tourism. The exact timeline will depend on the development of the pandemic.
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• Phase 1 (Now) – Resilience
– The HKTB is preparing a recovery plan for Hong Kong tourism.
• Phase 2 – Recovery
– When the pandemic shows signs of abating, the HKTB will first focus on local market to promote positive ambience in Hong Kong by encouraging locals to rediscover different neighbourhoods and community cultures in order to send a positive message to visitors and restore their confidence in the city. Meanwhile, the HKTB will launch tactical promotions with the trade in selected markets based on the developments of individual markets to stimulate people’s interest to visit Hong Kong.
• Phase 3 – Relaunch
– Mega events and a new tourism brand campaign will be launched to rebuild Hong Kong’s tourism image.
(I suspect many other destinations have similar programs and timelines in place, but this is well thought-out and seems like a solid plan. We’ll see how it plays out.)
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